I Won’t Be Fooled Again: Messages in Classic Rock

The history of rock music is not one that improves over time, but there have been a few gems to note. Not perfect in message but showing that sense of loss of something valuable after nihilistic philosophies began pushing out more sensible views of the world.

The decline of Western culture is noted in a few notable such pieces.

The one with the most cogent message is in my opinion Bye Bye Miss American Pie sung by Don McLean:

I think it’s way too much for the average person to read completely in one setting at least, but there are various interpretations here, some of which make sense and others that are a stretch:http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1193

Won’t Get Fooled Again, by the Who, was one of my favorite songs before I paid attention to the lyrics. I even used the title line for the same thing it was meant by it before I learned that my meaning was the intention of the songwriter: That leftists are the same as the ones they replace in power.

The best comment I think points out that the last lines are a summary. I don’t know when he wrote it but it reflects how my thinking had evolved from Communism convinced of the need for a violent overthrow of capitalism to a disillusion with the fact that all the socialists and revolutionary leaders were just as corruptible as anybody and skepticism.

There’s nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
Don’t get fooled again
No, no!